Courting Darkness

“A great story of murder, mystery . . . and well-developed
characters.”—Margie Hager, Netgalley Reviewer on A Drop of Magic

“A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass,
action, hot men, and a whole lot of magic.” —Diana Pharaoh
Francis, author of the Diamond City Magic, Magicfall,
and Horngate Witches series

Deeper into the shadows. . .

The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned
to the fae court, and she’s got her hands full trying to prepare.
But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death
at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future
is the prime suspect.

Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory
that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to
mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she
uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one
man she wanted to trust.

She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to
enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend.

With the world clinging to a fragile peace forced on the Fae by humanity
after the Faerie Wars, metalsmith Alex Blackwood is plunged into the
world of the half-fae who traffick in illegal magical artifacts. Her
best friend’s murder and his cryptic last message place her in the
crosshairs of a scheme to reignite the decade-old war between humans
and fae.

Worse, violent attacks against her and the arrival of a fae knight on a
mission force Alex to face a devastating revelation of who
and what she is. To catch a killer, retrieve a
dangerous artifact, and stop a war, Alex will have to accept that
she’s an unregistered fae “halfer” with a unique magical
talent—a talent that would change everything she believes about her
past, her art, and her future.

Her world is crumbling around her, and Alex will have to decide who to
trust if she and the world are going to survive.

“A Drop of Magic is a damned fun and original read, with sass, action,

hot men, and a whole lot of magic.”

—Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of the Diamond
City Magic, Magicfall, and Horngate Witches series

Born and raised in
Colorado, L. R. BRADEN makes her home in the foothills of the Rocky
Mountains with her wonderful husband, precocious daughter, and
psychotic cat. With degrees in both English literature and
metalsmithing, she splits her time between writing and art.